Celebrity Reflection 11 Night Eastern Mediterranean No Istanbul

[ChiSloop]

Ah I think I am a day behind as its summer holidays here :)....kept thinking it was the 24th yesterday. I have no idea about the current Equinox itinerary but I do know the Gay chartered cruise ended there...well thats what the crew said anyway.

 

We were on the Atlantis charter on the Equinox. We were told Saturday afternoon around 2:00pm, while in Kusadasi, that we would be in port an additional 3 hours and have a sea day on Sunday rather than arriving in Istanbul with the scheduled overnight.

 

The official announcement stated that Celebrity and U.S. officials had security concerns. We have been to Istanbul before, so we were OK with the sea day, but were disappointed for those who had never been there before. It is an amazing city.

 

Friends who stayed Monday night in Istanbul had no issues.

 

I agree with others that a beautiful cruise ship could be an enticing target for those opposed to the Turkish government. It is too bad because we love visiting Turkey.

Edited August 26, 2015 by ChiSloop

[cruiserhal]

Not to stir up the pot even more but, well, here goes.

 

Today my wife called Celebrity and had a rep who knew what she was doing. Knew all about the changes, confirmed them with my wife, said shore excursions booked thru Celebrity will automatically be credited back to the credit card, and said they know the web site is not up-to-date yet. I know when I checked our trip the old ports were still listed and there were cabins available in 3 categories.

 

While we booked this trip only for Istanbul, Rhodes and Crete look like they will have some interesting places to visit so it is not a total loss. After the initial shock, I'm happy it is nothing more serious and we are still going on a cruise. Now, where is my bartender?

 

Hal

[singlegrandma2]

Hi there,

 

We want to let guests know that we have been closely monitoring the security situation in Istanbul, Turkey, and have decided, in an abundance of caution, to cancel Celebrity Reflection’s overnight call to Istanbul on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5.

 

We will continue to monitor the situation in Turkey and will provide any updates should they be necessary.

__________________

Celebrity Cruises

http://www.Celebrity.com

 

I have no problem if Celebrity decides it is safer to stay away from Istanbul, and I think they chose great replacements but I will be very frustrated if they wait till a couple days before our cruise before they tell us. Since they have cancelled the 8/31 Istanbul stops, they need to decide about the next couple cruises. I am on the 9/21 and I am part of a large 24 person group and need a little more time to adapt to a change in our itinerary..... sounds like they have already decided but telling each group of cruise passengers a little at a time.....that is not cool

[woodards]

Spoke to a UK 'head of' at Celebrity and was told that the decision was made at 10pm UK time last night not to go to Istanbul.

 

The decision was then made not to tell UK guests until late today to allow time to get a message out to the call centre employees.

 

Problem is, the message didn't work.... two call centre employees couldn't answer questions today and said it needed to be checked by legal??!

[LA_Design]

I think we need to face up to simple facts

 

1. very few cruise passengers are killed during their trip

 

2. very few if any cruise ships have been hijacked or subjected to terrorist attacks ( thank god or ......)

 

3. whilst the cruise companies do their best to protect us - some issues are outside of their control.

 

4. too many people get shot in the Country where most passengers are from - we lose sight of this

[nordski]

Indeed! Celebrity's paranoia is really quite amazing from a non-US perspective.

 

Very sadly, all our main UK news web-sites are full of a shooting incident tonight, in which two young people were killed. Not in Istanbul, but in the country where 30,000 people die through the use of firearms each year.

 

You really could not make it up.

 

Stuart

 

 

Not certain that "paranoia" is the correct term.

 

Clearly President Erdogan wishes to bend the state to his vision of more centralized control and religiosity. During the upcoming fall election, I suspect there will be pushback, especially from the Kurds. Currently government offices and police are the targets, but will that limited sphere of action continue? The UK is presently warning visitors of possible attacks on the transit system.

 

I also suspect that Celebrity may also consider whether they will face increasing resistance to sell itineraries in the Eastern Med.

 

I don't envy the Celebrity officials who must make this decision.

[donnellyk]

Istanbul is out for us, no surprise, I guess. Athens overnight, Rhodes, Crete.:( With booking number look up it had not changed yet (a few minutes ago) but if you look at Celebrity site for that trip availability the itinerary change is there. :( but we'll still have a wonderful time!:D

[singlegrandma2]

donnellyk

Where do you see a change for Sept 21 cruise itinerary? I don't see anything changed yet. I am planning private excursions for 24 so really wanting a heads up so I can start making changes......

[Pipo]

Istanbul is out for us, no surprise, I guess. Athens overnight, Rhodes, Crete.:( With booking number look up it had not changed yet (a few minutes ago) but if you look at Celebrity site for that trip availability the itinerary change is there. :( but we'll still have a wonderful time!:D

 

I booked this cruise 9 months ago for, to, by, because, and only the ISTANBUL overnight. My first time there, and now it looks I won't make it. Some say security is a priority, and we should feel good that X is showing the highest level of responsibility for its customers and ships, BUT, cancelling Istanbul is not a proportionate action if we compare against other cities. Then RCI, and other cruise lines should cancel NY/NJ, Haifa, Sochi...

[opa&oma]

I think we need to face up to simple facts

 

1. very few cruise passengers are killed during their trip

 

2. very few if any cruise ships have been hijacked or subjected to terrorist attacks ( thank god or ......)

 

3. whilst the cruise companies do their best to protect us - some issues are outside of their control.

 

4. too many people get shot in the Country where most passengers are from - we lose sight of this

 

As someone who is from "that country", and also has taken this cruise just because of Istanbul, I completely agree with your logical reasoning.

[k9x8]

Athens is a great place to overnight for two reasons.

 

Firstly you can look at some longer excursions that take in places like Delphi, Marathon, Corrinth, Cape Sounion..... Delphi is to my mind one of the most amazing places on the planet and I am a world wide traveller.

 

Yes! If I were unable to ever travel again, I would be OK, because I've been to Delphi. Folks on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor told us it couldn't be done, but they were wrong. George's Taxi said it was doable, and our trip to Delphi was pure magic. We would do it again in a heartbeat, and an overnight would mean no worry about getting back to port by 4:30. Yes, it's a two hour drive, and that was very enjoyable due to our wonderful driver. We learned so much about contemporary Greece, as well as history.

 

I'm sorry for those of you who were counting on Istanbul. However, two full days in Athens gives you an array of choices outside of the city. The Peloponnesus peninsula is a gold mine for those interested in history.

 

Being a theatre major, I totally geeked, as the kids say, when our driver pointed towards Thebes and recited the riddle from Oedipus.

[Evangaline]

Good move on Celebrity's part to cancel Istanbul. Too much "stuff" going on out there that most folks are unaware of. I applaud them for that decision to protect the ship and their passengers.

Well don't clap too hard. Celebrity is being selective about which ships and passengers it is protecting. We are embarking in Istanbul on Sept 18 and staying overnight in port as well, then returning to disembark, of course. No word of any cancellation, although it would be quite a mess if that were to happen as everyone has air booked along with hotels, private tours, transfers and so on.

[cruiserchuck]

Well don't clap too hard. Celebrity is being selective about which ships and passengers it is protecting. We are embarking in Istanbul on Sept 18 and staying overnight in port as well, then returning to disembark, of course. No word of any cancellation, although it would be quite a mess if that were to happen as everyone has air booked along with hotels, private tours, transfers and so on.

 

Based on how Celebrity handled the recent Equinox turnaround in Istanbul, you probably will not be staying the first night in port, but will be leaving Istanbul on September 18.

[Evangaline]

ALL Reflection 11-night cruises (Istanbul) for this season still selling the original itinerary, not only on X webpage, but any other TA.

 

IMHO, I prefer an overnight in Mykonos than Athens, right now the greek capital is more prone to unrest due to the financial crisis, than Istanbul to terror.

 

Good point. There are massive demos slated to begin Sept. 16 aimed to block major roads and ports. It apparently is intended to lead up to the Sept 20 election.

[LA_Design]

Good move on Celebrity's part to cancel Istanbul. Too much "stuff" going on out there that most folks are unaware of. I applaud them for that decision to protect the ship and their passengers.

 

 

Oh please . Can some perspective be put on the situation. Vague Remarks like "stuff" mean nothing . Yesterday two journalists were tragically shot in the USA, 11 innocent people were killed by an out of control jet in the UK at the weekend- bad things happen everywhere.

 

On my first cruise to Istanbul the lovely people on the next table were genuinely mortified that we (10) were going into Istanbul on our own. It transpired that they had heard nothing but bad things and were really scared. When we returned for Dinner they welcomed us back as if we had been in a War Zone! When we told them we were returning the next day for a Turkish Bath and massage they almost had a heart attack.

 

Istanbul is no safer or dangerous than most big cities. Unfortunately no one predicted 9/11 in New York nor 7/7 in London. no one predicted the Tsunami. If you are unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time then you will have a problem, but thats life. One could always stay at home and hope no vehicle hits you as you cross the road , or in some countries hope no one shoots you with a readily available firearm.

 

Given that Celeb. have only cancelled SOME cruises to Istanbul cynics such as I might wonder that they could be using the 'situation' to lever commercial gain.

[Pushka]

Agree. Istanbul is as safe for individuals as anywhere else in the world. However I think that a ship at berth is a very tempting target. I dont think Celebrity is at all concerned about passengers travelling in Istanbul.

[woodards]

I booked this cruise 9 months ago for, to, by, because, and only the ISTANBUL overnight. My first time there, and now it looks I won't make it. Some say security is a priority, and we should feel good that X is showing the highest level of responsibility for its customers and ships, BUT, cancelling Istanbul is not a proportionate action if we compare against other cities. Then RCI, and other cruise lines should cancel NY/NJ, Haifa, Sochi...

 

+1

 

Ultimately London is at a higher level of alert than Istanbul according to UK Government!

[dutchclogs]

Agree. Istanbul is as safe for individuals as anywhere else in the world. However I think that a ship at berth is a very tempting target. I dont think Celebrity is at all concerned about passengers travelling in Istanbul.

 

I respectfully disagree though I do also think Celebrity is being extremely cautious to the point of arguably overreacting.

 

IMHO, they want to limit the exposure of passengers ashore --especially those on ship excursions-- being caught up as collateral damage in any incidents arising from the present political tensions. Transfers from airport to cruise terminal pose less risk, and any private pre or post embarkation tours would not be the responsibility of the cruise line.

[ecslady]

Istanbul is out for us, no surprise, I guess. Athens overnight, Rhodes, Crete.:( With booking number look up it had not changed yet (a few minutes ago) but if you look at Celebrity site for that trip availability the itinerary change is there. :( but we'll still have a wonderful time!:D

 

I am on the Oct 12 Reflection cruise and have been watching for changes.

 

I do not see any itinerary changes in the X website for either the Sept 21 or the Oct 12 cruise yet.

 

Has anyone on the Sept 21 cruise been officially notified of a change yet?

[Evangaline]

Oh please . Can some perspective be put on the situation. Vague Remarks like "stuff" mean nothing . Yesterday two journalists were tragically shot in the USA, 11 innocent people were killed by an out of control jet in the UK at the weekend- bad things happen everywhere.

 

On my first cruise to Istanbul the lovely people on the next table were genuinely mortified that we (10) were going into Istanbul on our own. It transpired that they had heard nothing but bad things and were really scared. When we returned for Dinner they welcomed us back as if we had been in a War Zone! When we told them we were returning the next day for a Turkish Bath and massage they almost had a heart attack.

 

Istanbul is no safer or dangerous than most big cities. Unfortunately no one predicted 9/11 in New York nor 7/7 in London. no one predicted the Tsunami. If you are unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time then you will have a problem, but thats life. One could always stay at home and hope no vehicle hits you as you cross the road , or in some countries hope no one shoots you with a readily available firearm.

 

Given that Celeb. have only cancelled SOME cruises to Istanbul cynics such as I might wonder that they could be using the 'situation' to lever commercial gain.

 

Totally agree. If Celebrity is going to get their shorts in a knot this easily they should get out of the cruise business as there is "stuff" happening everywhere. They really need to have cooler judgment. Seriously if they cancel any of my Istanbul ports just because Costa did it, I will never trust them enough to book anything outside the Caribbean with them again. And who follows Costa's lead? Good grief.

[leleroma]

Today Msc is at Istanbul...

[leleroma]

do you think celebrity give us some sort of compensation to make it less bitter cancellation of Istanbul? Obc? Port fees?

[upwarduk]

There is: a link at the top of the Sticky's:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6505

Edited August 27, 2015 by upwarduk

[riredsox]

really ? Not scared that many people get shot in the USA ? how many people shot this year in Florida and rest of the States ?

 

I have been to Istanbul on many occasions never had an issue . But then if you are unlucky you could run into trouble anywhere in the World

 

I was commenting on the posters statement that the story was not on the news. I am well aware bad things can happen anywhere.

[nordski]

This issue is kind of a no-win for cruise lines.

 

If they cancel a port like Istanbul, then they are overreacting.

 

If they don't cancel, and something untoward happens, then they are placing profits before safety.

 

Although there may be safety issues in any port, as posters have noted, clearly the travel advisories of nations such as Canada and the UK consider Istanbul at heightened risk for terrorist activities. Although we were in, and enjoyed, Istanbul this May, it's difficult to argue that the situation is not more tenuous, particularly given Erdogan's most recent decisions since then.

 

Finally, given the ongoing issue of missing ports for any number of issues, including weather, mechanical breakdown etc., the old rule still holds. If it's really important to visit a particular city, a land visit, including pre and post cruise options , may be your best option.